Giafante

The saddle, the rocks, and the terraces

General Description

Not far from the Secca Giafante shoal, two different itineraries can be found: the first involves the circumnavigation of the entire sea stack, and the second consists of a visit to a nearby rocky shoal further offshore. With the slope of the terrain, the Giafante sea stack forms a large saddle a little less than 10 metres deep, which is an ideal spot for anchoring and beginning the dive. It is recommended to descend on the east side: the seabed in this area primarily consists of large stacked boulders, which slide downwards to create large terraces. The depth at the foot of the landslide is 33 m. Continuing counter-clockwise towards the outer tip of Giafante, you have two possibilities: head for the large underwater pyramid that can be seen far about thirty metres away (the Giafante shoal), or else continue exploring close to the wall itself. After leaving the shoal, head back to the sides of the sea stack, where you can continue exploring the western side until you have returned to the anchor point.

Naturalistic Features

From the depths of 6 to 7 metres and beyond, the entire underwater environment is covered by a blanket of green and brown algae. Sea ball algae and the unique Acetabularia acetabulum variety can also be sporadically encountered, the latter among the rocks in deep water. With small branches of gorgonian sea fans, melon sea urchins, and a number of Mediterranean fanworms embellishing its surface, the slab of rock that gives life to the shoal adjacent to Giafante offers a more rich and widely-varied environment. You will encounter moray eels out of their lairs, as well as various groupers, and large numbers of swallowtail seaperch. Cardinalfish can also be found among the small recesses, or else inside the cavities with jutting ridges. The shoal in the middle of the channel is home to numerous salema porgy and seabream.

area

Aeolian Islands

itinerary

Giafante

position

38° 34,799’ longitude - 014° 31,419’ latitude

license

PADI - advanced | FIPSAS - third level AR | SSI - advanced

Type of route

Shallows | Rock | Steps

dive start

only from a boat

Maximum depth

39

path length

Data not available

nature of the bottom

Rock

Current probability

low

orientation

Easy

level of difficulty

Easy

Type of interest

Naturalistic

Flora and fauna

route subject to authorization

yes

Filicudi

Giafante

itinerary illustration

comments

Gallery